Çayırhan power station

Çayırhan power station is a 620 MW operational coal fired power station in Turkey in Ankara Province.[1] In 2019 land was expropriated for another lignite mine, to feed the a proposed extension, which was opposed as uneconomic and eventually had its licence revoked.[2][3]

Çayırhan power station
Country
  • Turkey
Coordinates40°05′49″N 31°41′42″E
StatusOperational
Commission date
  • 1987
Owner(s)
Thermal power station
Primary fuel
Power generation
Nameplate capacity
  • 620 MW
Annual net output
  • 1,935 GWh (2021)
  • 2,353 GWh (2022)
  • 2,893 GWh (2020)
  • 4,312 GWh (2019)
External links
Websitewww.parktermik.com

History

In 2017 the government privatized the Çayırhan-B lignite coalfield on condition a coal-fired power plant is built, in the hope that it would be the first of a wave of similar deals for various lignite coalfields around the country.[4]

Ownership

The project is a joint venture between Kolin, Kalyon and Çelikler.[5]

Finance

An extension was proposed at an estimated cost of $1.1-billion but was not done.[5]

Subsidies

The government is giving a 15-year purchase guarantee.[5]

Economics

The winning consortium bid $60.4 per megawatt, but according to opponents of the extension expanding Turkey's solar power would save taxpayers money in the long term.[2]

Employment

The company says it will employ 500 people in the plant and 1,500 for coal mining.[5]

Coal supply
See also: Coal in Turkey

As Turkish lignite is heavy compared to its energy content coal must be sourced locally. According to one source Çayırhan is a longwall mine (therefore underground),[6] but Global Energy Monitor says it is opencast. Coalfields in Ankara province include Beypazarı-Çayırhan, Gölbaşı-Karagedik, Gölbaşı-Bahçeköy, Ayaş-Kayıbucak and Şereflikoçhisar.[4]

Environmental Impact

Despite the environmental impact assessment having been approved opponents of the extension claim the environment will be damaged.

Dust

As of 2020 the plant is operating with inadequate dust filters[7] and Turkey has no legal limit on ambient fine particules (PM2.5). Opponents claim that Nallıhan bird sanctuary, 6 km away, could be damaged.[2]

Sulfur Dioxide

As of 2020 the plant is operating with inadequate sulfur treatment,[8][7] and the area is a sulfur dioxide air pollution hotspot[9]

Nitrogen oxides

As of 2020 the plant is operating without sufficient NOx filtering.[7]

Greenhouse gases

After extension the power station would contribute an estimated 4 megatonnes (Mt) a year to Turkey's greenhouse gas emissions.[2] As Turkey has no carbon emission trading it would not be economically viable to capture and store the gas.[10]

Opposition

The Chamber of Mechanical Engineers has questioned why the existing plant was granted a 2020 operating license without meeting air pollution standards.[7] Opponents include Ankara 350.org and singer Tarkan.[2]

In 2022 the NGO Climate Change, Policy, and Research Association alleged that the power station did not comply with flue gas regulations, was burning coal from a mine which did not have a permit, and risked collapsing.[11]: 30 [12][13]

See also

References
  1. "EMBA Electricity Production Co. Inc". EMBA Elektrik Üretim A.Ş. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  2. "Çevrecilerin karşı çıktığı proje için 'acele kamulaştırma' kararı". Gazete Duvar. 16 April 2019.
  3. Birliği -, Ekoloji (2021-03-15). "13 termik santral ve HES projesinin enerji üretim lisansı iptal edilip sonlandırıldı". Ekoloji Birliği (in Turkish). Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  4. "Ankara". Coal in Turkey. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  5. "$1.1 billion investment planned in coal plant". Daily Sabah. 7 February 2017.
  6. "Coal production in Turkey and major projects". Mining Technology. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  7. "MMO Başkanı, Termik Santraller İle İlgili Bir Basın Açıklaması Yaptı". Enerji Portalı (in Turkish). 24 January 2020.
  8. "Baskı sonuç verdi: Filtresiz termik santrallere izin çıkmadı | DW | 15.02.2019". DW.COM (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  9. "Global SO2 emission hotspot database" (PDF). Greenpeace. August 2019.
  10. Esmaeili, Danial (June 2018). Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage in the Context of Turkish Energy Market (PDF). Sabancı University.
  11. Boom and Bust Coal 2023 (Report). Global Energy Monitor. 2023-04-05.
  12. "İklim Değişikliği Politika ve Araştırma Derneği". iklimdernegi.org. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  13. "İklim Değişikliği Politika ve Araştırma Derneği". iklimdernegi.org. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.